U-joint bellows positioning/water hose gets in the way.

[wisebob]

Tried to install new u-joint bellows on the Bravo 3 today and majorly failed. I positioned the bellows where it says top exactly at 12 oclock so the flat spot on the left hand side is at 9oclock. Problem with that is that the water hose got in the way and I could not tell if I got the bellows into the groove or not. For that matter, once I pushed the bellows on, I couldn't tell if it was even ever in the groove since the hose clamp covers it up.

So rather than risk a bad install, I pulled it off and now will have to remove all the adhesive and start again. I sort of read somewhere else that the flat spot of the bellows sits more at 11 oclock than 9? Any tips would be helpful. The stupid water hose covers the left hand side up so can't see if the clamp is on good or not and how deep the bellows is sitting.

Much thanks.

 

[wisebob]

I got it on.

 

[tpenfield]

When I did my Bravo 3 bellows, I do not recall the inlet hose being too much of a problem. The flat spot goes at 9 o'clock . You definitely want to make sure you have good clearance and visibility when installing it so you can be sure it is all the way 'home' on the flange. Hopefully you got it installed well.

 

[thumpar]

On my Alpha I put the water hose on after putting the transom side of the bellows on.